Frankie goes to Puppy School Week 4

13/07/2017

Its week 4 of Puppy School and I am feeling great! We’ve had a busy week at Natures Menu where I have been practicing my settle down and trying hard not to run around and bark too much in the office. This week I am looking good in my new super comfy Perfect Fit harness and I am feeling great because Mum has packed a tub full of yummy treats, sausage, chicken, cheese and of course, Natures Menu treats. Today I haven’t had too much dinner, so I am really looking forward to doing some training at Puppy School with my mum and getting some of those yummy treats!!

We had a go at being handled again this week by someone that we didn’t know. I am so good at this. I got to make friends with a nice man in class who took me away from mum and sat with me to check me over. It was ok, he was nice and didn’t go too quickly for me which made me feel calm. I am a REALLY friendly puppy and because I go to work with my mum every day I have so many human friends that I find it really easy when new people touch me and check my paws and ears and tummy. In my class there is a puppy, Woody a Cockapoo, who used to be a bit shy with new people and puppies but this week he was really brave and seemed happy to have a sniff and a play with new humans and one of the Daschund twins Emma. I think he is getting more confident which is good. I can’t imagine what it must be like to feel shy!! Luckily at Puppy School they really look after the shy puppies and make sure that no other pups or people bother them while they get used to everything.

This week my teacher Zoe started telling all the mums and dads about how they can use different treats to teach us hard things and easy things. She said that we could have the really high value treats like Natures Menu or cheese for the hard things we are learning but we could have ‘normal’ food or treats like biscuits for the easy things at home. I think this is ok because I like pretty much all food and also because I am really starting to like doing things right for Sarah my mum. When I get it right like with my sits, downs and stands and she is pleased it makes me feel really good!

We had to show Zoe and Anna our positions again and see who could do them without a food magnet on their nose and just watching the hand signals that the humans made and listening for the words. Most of the puppies could do this easily. I did great, but I think we need to practise ‘stand’ a bit more. Also, I DO NOT like lying down on the floor in the hall and finally the humans worked this out and brought me a nice blanket to lay on. When I had a nice soft blanket I could really show them how good I was a laying down, it’s not hard really! Also, I am awesome at ‘sit’ and totally know what that word means now, in lots of different places too.

We had another practise tonight at loose lead walking and were supposed to be learning how to change direction and stay beside our humans. This might not be my specialty! It’s just that I really like to rush ahead and see what’s going on so Zoe helped mum to get the hang of it. I am quite good at being beside Sarah my mum for a treat but then I whizz ahead because I feel excited. Zoe said mum needs to stop letting me pull but I think she will find this tricky. The good thing is no-one at Puppy School minds when we get it wrong and they just try to show me and mum how to do it right. I think if we try lots at home again we will get this… Zoe said I was definitely better than last week so that’s good.

The first thing we did tonight was practise our come when called from playing with the other puppies. I love this part of Puppy School because I am always so happy to play with the other puppies. I got to play with my friend Windsor again and we were both really excited. I tried really hard this week to listen for mum calling me but I still got a bit distracted by playing. It was really easy to come to mum when she got a treat on my nose and called me away while I was sniffing it. It’s cool because then she lets me eat it and carry on playing with Windsor. I think I am getting better at noticing when she calls me because we have been practicing this a lot at home. Mum said that since I have been coming to Puppy School I have got better at being calm and polite when I see other dogs and puppies, that’s good I think.

After this it was really funny because Zoe and Anna made the humans dress up in funny costumes and bring us treats!! Puppy School is so much fun. We got to see humans dressed up as builders, bikers and in Halloween costumes. They also had a walking stick, umbrella and a pushchair. Zoe said some of these things might be a bit scary and that we should try to meet different people and see things like every day. I did not see anything that worried me but I think I am a lucky puppy that gets to go out and about a lot and also I have a very confident personality. I don’t think Woody was very keen on the pushchair but they are going to help him get used to them. I was good at showing him how not to worry. This could be my specialty!!

The last thing we learned tonight was ‘wait’. This means we have to stay really still and then we can get a treat. That sounds simple but actually it is harder than it sounds! I got to do a demo with Zoe for this and I did great!! So, basically Zoe says ‘wait’ gives me a nice hand signal and I have to sit and look handsome while she counts and then I get to have a treat and a wiggle. At first I did 3 seconds, then 5 and then when we tried to do a bit more I couldn’t hold it in and I wiggled before I was supposed to. Everyone laughed and Zoe didn’t mind but said that she had made it too hard for me, I agreed! So we got to practise for 4 or 5 seconds and that was great because I could hold in my wiggle for that long and then get the treat. At home we are going to try get up to 10 seconds!! Hmm, well I’ll try my best. Mum has to make sure she only gives me my treat while I‘m sitting still and not if I move. Between you and me, I think mum finds this tricky because she loves me sooo much and loves giving me treats, even if I go wrong. Sometimes this makes me feel confused but luckily Zoe and Anna are on hand to help her be a good trainer. This is good news because us pups love it when we get things right…it feels great!